Ayyy matey..... a mermaid ahoy!

A smashing success! Mom got the mermaid costume made and Evan fit into the pirate costume. The kids and I made our way over to our good friends Nancy and Gideon's house for their crazy fun party! Monster music as you walked in (plus the added bonus of a photographer to snap our unsullied looks!) TONS of goulishly delicious treats and fun, fun, fun for the kids. We had some dinner and then in a group of about 20-30 kids (yeah, there was alot!) did the neighborhood. The nice thing is that it is flat (a rarety out here), safe, and interesting. Interesting you say? Yes, interesting. There is one particular house that gives stuffed animals instead of candy. Apparently the guy has been doing this for 35+ years. He goes to garage sales, people donate to him throughout the year etc. You walk in and the entry, kitchen and living room are FILLED with stuffed animals big and small. Evan honed right in on a monkey with a shiny nose - all the better to bite on. Kiira went for the fluffiest chick she could find. About half as big as she is!

Evan was a trooper. He insisted on walking/running along behind the mob and ran right up to the door when trick or treat needed to be declared (including running up steps much to mom's dismay...). He wasn't very interested in the candy i found out, he just wanted to be part of the group. If he was the last to go up to the door, he'd just turn around and follow the kids back out before getting the candy. TOO funny. My costume - well, Charleston Cutie was the title on the package. Not my norm but what the heck - was fun to break out of my normal ladybug costume.

Enjoy the picts - Happy Halloween everyone.

Carving frenzy

Well, yesterday we carved our pumpkins, and despite not wanting to get her hands dirty at first, Kiira did a great job. And yummy...those pumpkin seeds!

I love my kids, I love my kids, I love my kids.....

....sometimes it is reassuring even in the most tiring, the most sick, the most "I don't ever get a break moments" to tell yourself these words....

Kids have been sick - Kiira with pink eye, Evan with bronchialitis. This on the heals of pneumonia for both just about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Alan and I cut short our romantic 24 hrs away at the lovely W Hotel in San Francisco (to a romantic 16 hrs away) to come back and take them both to urgent care. Because, of course, these things always happen on the weekend. Uhhhggg...happy anniversary honey. Glad we splurged on the fancy hotel for the, oh, about 8 hrs we were actually in it. Happy 7th anniversary, and 6th for that matter, since we both forgot last year. Oops!

Now off to give eyedrops to my eldest and nebulize my youngest. Oh yeah - had to post this video (hope it works). Even though you know every parent goes through these things, it's nice to hear it from them as well. Enjoy this random You Tube video... it made me almost cry i was laughing so hard. Okay - now this is truly getting posted now that it has sat on my computer for awhile.....
YouTube - Pachelbel Bedtime

Cal and the TAXI

Well, I'm not sure if I ever got into the details of poor Calvin's health.

First off, do you remember as a kid, having your pets? Do you actually remember them having any specific ailment? I don't really. Part of that is because my wonderful mother would shield me from anything unpleasant seeing as I was a sensitive soul to animals (she cut me off from Walt Disney by the time I was about 6 yrs old - she couldn't take my tears...think Bambi, Old Yeller, etc! Those are just the obvious ones. Any movie where the animal was in an iffy situation though - the waterwork would start to flow...my poor mother). Okay, and the other part is that we just didn't take them in for "checkups". Aaaanyway....I digress.

The thing nowadays to do with one's pets after they reach geriatric age is to take them in for the yearly checkup. Mind you - we alone have footed the bill for a new wing at our vets between Rennie's allergies and Calvin's geriatric checkups and consequently the work and recheckups to follow up from said geriatric appointments (I seriously am going to expect a plaque soon over one of the doors...). So, anyway, at the last appointment we found out that Calvin is starting with kidney failure, he has cancer (a lump on his lung node, and some fuzzy areas in the chest), AND congestive heart failure. The last one seems to be the thing that'll get him the vet says. We can't operate to take out the lump b/c we aren't sure he'd even make it through the operation. Oh yeah, he's 16 yrs young by the way.

Well, this is a long winded way of saying, we started him on some meds and he's actually improved! NOT what I thought the vet would ever say. Especially since when Bullseye got cancer, he didn't have long at all - about 3 weeks. So, imagine my glee when I got the news. Way to go old guy. He's pretty spunky yet and luckily he hasn't realized there is anything wrong with him. I'm convinced he'll make it to 17 yrs old! It's just around the corner ...... Feb 2 - Ground Hog's day! Keep your fingers crossed all....

Oh yeah - as you can see, that's not Calvin in the "Taxi" as we like to call it. But let's just say I found YET another toy that is cheap that we seem to have on hand....it's amazing what these kids will play with. Why do we even bother with toys?

Embarrassment for his later years to come

Granted, we have an abundence of girlie items in the house, however, Evan really does gravitate towards the barrettes. I couldn't resist capturing the moment. He's also into the the princess crowns. I wouldn't put it past Kiira to dress him up in one her tutu's to go with said crown!

Gettin' ready for Halloween

...couldn't resist these photos the other day. The air was crisp and clear. I looked out from our deck and saw Mount Tamalpais and good 'ole San Francisco. The water was calm (we are so thankful for our view) and for the first time in awhile, I appreciated the brisk feel to the air. The bright sunny day makes all the difference though. Halloween is around the corner and that's a good excuse to gather the family and head to the pumpkin patch....stay tuned on what we decide to carve!